Album Review: Creeper – Eternity, In Your Arms

Well this one has been a long time coming. When Creeper emerged with their brilliant self titled debut EP in 2014, people were already clamouring for a full length album. The want and anticipation was ramped up even further by follow up EP’s The Callous Heart (now a phrase that is part of the bands identity) as well as last year’s The Stranger, which seen the bands songwriting surpass all the conceptions people had held of this band so young in their career. A full promotional campaign that even the giants of music would be proud of as well as a brilliant debut headline tour, many big support slots (Andy Black, Pierce The Veil etc) and a recently released Kerrang cover and we finally have the debut Creeper album…

With hype being at fever pitch, there is a lot of onus on the band not to let the fans down here and, my god, do they deliver. From the moment Suzanne was released months ago and the album was announced, everyone should have known that Creeper were not going to let us down and they definitely don’t. Opening with the brilliantly theatrical single Black Rain where you get an immediate dose of the songwriting genius that exists within the Creeper unit as well as an introduction to the use of Hannah’s vocals, being utilised for the first time on this record. The combination of vocalists on the chorus here is huge, opening the album in truly outstanding fashion but the fun does not stop here.

Following on from such a brilliant opener would have been nearly impossible for most bands, but Creeper are not most bands. Immediately following it with Poison Pens is a stroke of genius as the band throw a straight in your face punk-tinged track to show that the bite from their earlier work is going nowhere. Following this are the other two previously released tracks in Hiding With Boys and Suzanne where we see huge choruses as well as a sound that combines the pop punk style of The Offspring with the grace and vocal tendencies of Meatloaf, truly unique.

The album just does not stop at any point whatsoever, with genuine 10/10 tracks from start to finish. Down Below sounds absolutely massive, with Will wailing the chorus in such an honest way everyone will believe every word he says. Winona Forever has such a joyous nature to it that listeners will not be able to wipe the smiles from their faces when singing along to its absurdly catchy chorus.

As good as all these songs are, what makes this record truly unmissable is the slower songs. The first one the listener will come across is Misery, which was previously released on The Stranger EP. This song is flawless, as well as being this writer’s top song of 2016, the emotion in the chorus, the reflective lyrics and the massive outro that the whole song builds to is just brilliant. There are two new slower songs on this record that show that Misery was not a one off however in Crickets and I Choose To Live. Both these tracks offer different perspectives on the slower songs as well as different lead vocalists. The former is Hannah Greenwood’s first chance at being the lead vocalist on Creeper and she takes her opportunity with both hands, with her emotional delivery creating what could be the best song of Creeper’s career so far. A genuine masterstroke of songwriting.

When this album comes to an end, one can’t help but sit there and wonder what just happened and how it has made them feel. Every song on this record will make the listener feel something such is the amount of honesty here, as well as the amount of fun you can have by listening to it.

Creeper are a band that nobody should pass up on, and every rock fan should take a sense of pride in. With this record they ensure that everyone will soon know who the best new band in rock music currently is. Not only that, they are doing everything on their own terms in their own way and it is only a matter of time before it is going to be too late to see these guys in small places. This band are going to continue to grow and when you consider that this is only one of the first steps on the journey, I for one can’t wait.